Ironic
by alsdssg
Summary: Harry broke up with Ginny to protect her from Voldemort. When he finally killed the Dark Lord, he thought it could all work out, but life has a funny way of sneaking up on you when everything seems like it's going right. R & R.


Ironic

Disclaimer: I don't own the song by Alanis Morissette or the book by J.K. Rowling.

Harry woke up abruptly. Something was wrong. He didn't know what it was, but something was most definitely not right. He walked downstairs, hoping to eat some of the leftovers from Mrs. Weasley's delicious dinner last night. He'd recovered from his battle with Voldemort, and he'd triumphed. It had been a cause for celebration. Ginny would be coming home from her friend's house tomorrow, and he was anxious to see her. He was ready to make everything right with her. He only hoped that she was still willing to be in a relationship with him. It was safe now, and he wanted nothing more.

When he finished climbing down the stairs, he was surprised to find the entire Weasley family, with the exception of Ginny and Charlie who had gone back to Romania, Fleur, and Hermione sitting there, each with a look of distinctive sadness on their faces.

Mrs. Weasley was sobbing uncontrollably. Hermione was hugging her and sobbing too. Fleur was comforting a Bill who was crying silent tears while fighting them herself. Mr. Weasley's face was dry, but he looked like a man who did not know who or where he was. Fred and George had the same expression of grim sadness on their faces. They weren't crying, but they had the same lost look Mr. Weasley did. Neither one of them looked capable of making a joke. Ron was crying as Harry had never seen him do before. Hermione moved from Mrs. Weasley to hug him and cry into his shoulder. Percy was holding a letter and crying. Bill looked at him and said, "It's not true, Perce. It can't be true." Percy gulped. That was all he did.

"What is it?" Harry asked, although he thought he knew the answer. He hoped he was wrong.

Percy handed him the letter with a sob. Harry took it and read,

"Dear Mr. and Weasley,

We regret to inform that just a few hours ago, Mr. Draco Malfoy broke into the home of Miss Luna Lovegood. He killed them both, as well as Miss Lovegood's father. We were able to capture him, and he is currently awaiting sentencing in Azkaban. Please, accept our deepest condolences. We regret that we could not track down Mr. Malfoy sooner. The only reason Mr. Malfoy gave for this terrible atrocity was revenge against your family for killing his father, convicted deatheater, Lucius Malfoy."

Harry dropped the letter. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't right. He'd killed Voldemort. Ginny should have been safe. He'd done the best thing he could have done for her.

It was like he'd won that thing always bought tickets for so that they could win money and then died before he could spend it. He'd been relieved of the greatest burden he could have imagined bearing. He'd avenged Sirius's death, Dumbledore's death, his parent's death, Cedric's death, and so many more. Why had Ginny died now? It wasn't right. It didn't make sense.

_An old man turned ninety-eight  
He won the lottery and died the next day  
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay  
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late  
And isn't it ironic... don't you think_

He'd done all that he needed to do. He'd stopped dating her to keep her safe. He'd been sure it would work. He'd made sure she'd been at Luna's so that she would be safe from any deatheater's revenge. It had been that that had been her downfall. Maybe he should have listened more carefully to what Dumbledore had said about love. Maybe his love for Ginny could have protected her. Maybe she would have been alright if she had been by his side. Ron and Hermione had been, and they were still here. They were alive and well.

Why hadn't he taken Dumbledore's advice? He should have listened to Dumbledore who'd told him to trust love and Hermione who'd told him not to trust those dreams. If he had, Ginny and Sirius would still be alive. Everything would have been perfect if he had just listened.

_It's like rain on your wedding day  
It's a free ride when you've already paid  
It's the good advice that you just didn't take  
Who would've thought... it figures_

He remembered how he'd been afraid to even date Ginny because she had been Ron's sister and because he'd been remembering his fiasco with Cho. He remembered how happy he'd been when they'd gone out together. He didn't think he'd ever been happier. Two close seconds would have been when he became friends with Ron and Hermione and when he'd learned he'd been leaving the Durselys. But even those things hadn't quite equaled the happiness Ginny had brought him. He'd waited his whole life for a relationship like that, and then he'd decided to play it safe again so he wouldn't lose it, and she'd died because he hadn't been there to protect her, not because he'd continued dating her. He'd even been looking forward to reuniting with her when Malfoy had been killing her.

_Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly  
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye  
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight  
And as the plane crashed down he thought  
"Well isn't this nice..."  
And isn't it ironic... don't you think_

How had Malfoy, who hadn't had the courage to kill Dumbledore, who hadn't ever really known love from his father or so Harry had thought, manage to find the courage or the guts or whatever you could call it to take revenge? Why hadn't he tried one of the other members of the Weasley family? Then Harry would have been able to protect them.

It was so stupid, really. Malfoy, the coward who couldn't do anything without Crabbe and Goyle, had taken his own revenge for once. If only he had been brave enough to attempt a murder with Harry nearby or too cowardly to attempt on at all.

It wasn't just that. He hadn't even killed Ginny to get revenge on Harry. He'd killed the sister of his father's killer to avenge that man's death. Harry looked at Ron who was looking at him to see his reaction. So was everyone else for that matter. Did they blame Ron for killing Mr. Malfoy? Did they blame him for suggesting she'd go to Luna's in the first place? He felt as though he deserved the blame more than any. It was just like the time Sirius had died. He'd been trying to save the people he loved both times, and both times they'd died. Why did this happen?

_It's like rain on your wedding day  
It's a free ride when you've already paid  
It's the good advice that you just didn't take  
Who would've thought... it figures_

"Dear, we don't blame you," Mrs. Weasley asked at the look on his face. She then turned to Ron and said, "You did what you had to do Ron. It's not your fault. It's Malfoy's fault. He's the one who did it. Harry, you were just looking out for her, and you were just looking out for Harry, Ron. You told me that Mr. Malfoy was trying to kill Harry. You were just helping your friend dear."

Neither Ron nor Harry could find the will to respond.

"It's funny how it works out, isn't it? We were just trying to help them, and it blew up in our faces," Fred spoke up.

"It is funny. Just when everything was going right, it all went wrong," George added, forcing a laugh that quickly turned into a sob as the boy dissolved in tears. Fred followed suit, and soon both the twins were crying. Mr. Weasley still looked too lost to say anything.

_Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you  
When you think everything's okay and everything's going right  
And life has a funny way of helping you out when  
You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up  
In your face_

Harry closed his eyes as even more tears seeped through them. How could she have died when he'd thought he'd had all the resources for protect her? How could she have died when he'd done the one thing he'd thought would protect her: pushing her away? It had turned out to be the wrong thing. How could that be?

_A traffic jam when you're already late  
A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break  
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife  
It's meeting the man of my dreams  
And then meeting his beautiful wife  
And isn't it ironic...don't you think  
A little too ironic...and, yeah, I really do think..._

Mrs. Weasley's words did nothing to calm him, even if that was what they had been meant to do. It was his fault. He should have been there. He wanted to say it, but the tears kept him from saying anything.

"It's ironic really," Mr. Weasley said, speaking for the first time since Harry had joined them. "She was the youngest, and we were just trying to help her. Molly's right, Harry, Ron. Don't blame yourselves. Blame Malfoy."

_It's like rain on your wedding day  
It's a free ride when you've already paid  
It's the good advice that you just didn't take  
Who would've thought... it figures_

"It's my fault," Harry mumbled. "I should have been there to protect her."

"No, mate, it's mine," Ron protested. "I killed Malfoy's dad, and that's why that bloody ferret killed Ginny."

"Ron!" Mrs. Weasley yelled. Harry was amazed that she still had the strength to yell after all this.

"Stop it both of you," Hermione said through her tears. "You can't keep blaming yourselves. Ron, if you hadn't killed Mr. Malfoy, he would have killed Harry, and Ginny would have probably still died because Harry wouldn't have been able to kill Voldemort."

Ron shook his head. "Hermione, that's nice, but…"

Hermione threw her arms around him and hugged him.

"Stop blaming yourself," she ordered.

"Ron, it's my fault," Harry said.

"You stop it too," Hermione ordered. "You were both trying to help her. You did the right thing. It's like Fred said. You were just trying to protect her. It's not your fault it didn't work. And blaming yourself won't bring her back. You have to just let it go."

"She's dead, Hermione," Harry shouted. "I can't let it go."

"That's not what you need to let go. We're all upset about it. What you need to let go of is your guilt. You can't change what happened, and changing it might not have saved her. You can't undo the past, so just live for the future," Hermione told him.

Both boys hugged her, and the rest of the Weasley family gathered around. Maybe Ginny was dead, but they had to get through it as she would have wanted them to.

_Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you  
Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out  
Helping you out_

I know that wasn't the best, but I love the song and the paring. And we all know that breaking up with your girlfriend to save her never works. Honestly, if Harry is worried about Voldemort trying to get to him through somebody, why is he still hanging around Ron and Hermione? Why doesn't he just place himself in solitary confinement? You can tell I'm a girl by this, can't you? Anyway, please review even if you just want to tell me it wasn't that good. Bye.


End file.
